I can think of only a few issues in life that are worse than
being swallowed by a whale. Yet, as soon as Jonah praised God for his horrific
circumstances, God delivered him by having the whale deposit him on dry ground
(Jonah 2:9-10).
My dad had a bad heart attack; and for a year after that
event, He begged God to take him home to Heaven. One night at supper, he asked
my mom, "Why won't God answer my prayer?"
She calmly advised, "I think it may be because you are
demanding from God, rather than saying, 'Lord, I accept Your will in
this."
That night she heard him in his room singing songs about
"not my will, Lord, but yours be done." The next morning on her way
to church, she checked on my dad, and he was sleeping.
When she returned from the church service, she checked on
him again, and he had not changed positions, which was unusual for him. She
checked him closer and realized his body was very cold.
The Lord heard my dad's surrendered hymns and took him home
as he sang. What an awesome God we serve. It really is amazing what praising
will do for us and in us.
God will deliver you and me from our negative circumstances
too. The key for deliverance is to be joyful and grateful to God regardless of
what is occurring in our life.
Jesus lives, moves and has His being in us and never, ever
leaves or forsakes us (Acts 17:28; Hebrews 13:5). Our behavior may cause a rift
in our relationship with God; but He is always there, even when His back is
turned to our sinful practices (Psalm 22:1).
Of course, the logical solution to this problem is to live
in righteousness. By the power of God's Spirit within us, we reject all of the
devil's temptations to sin.
Living each moment in the presence of, and in praise to our
mighty God will lead us to redemption, regardless of the facets of our current
existence. Our Father always knows best .
Prayer:
Father God, our hearts overflow with grateful praises to
You. We refuse to allow Satan to tempt us to complain, so that we will remain
in our awful, negative circumstances. We know that praising You is our hot air
balloon ride to better times.
We praise You for Your deliverance from the huge events that
attempt to steal our joy, but we also praise You for the myriad of little
blessings that You provide for us each and every day. Thank You for putting a
new song in our heart and for Your bountiful provision for all of our needs.
Thought for the Day:
When we repent of our sins and believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, we are saved from eternal damnation; and we reflect the glory of the
Lord in our body, our thoughts, our words and our actions. - 2 Corinthians 3:18
